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Return of the Stellar Empress [Worm/Xainxia]

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Well damn. Huh bitchwell might try to get the PRT consultant to help destroy Taylor reputation but piggot caught wind of this and took both down for corruption?
 
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Chapter 19
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    • Chapter 19


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    Michelle frowns as she watches a girl with lank black hair walk past her shop several times. When nobody else seems to have approached the girl, she walks over to the front door and opens it next time the girl passes. Almost immediately the smell of raspberries hits her, and not the natural smell of shampoo, the chemically sweet smell of flat soda.


    Taking the couple of steps needed to reach the girl, she taps her on the shoulder, "Hey, are you alright?"


    The girl turns around and nods too quickly, "I'm just waiting for the bookshop to reopen."


    Michelle nods comfortingly, "Percy usually does his banking Fridays so that he has plenty of change for the weekend."


    The girl looks down the road at the closed bank, "Oh, do you know when he'll be back?"


    Michelle shakes her head, "I don't, sorry. Only that he was driving north to Belfast because the Bank's closed while they review security. Look, why don't you come inside and wash your face off while I make some tea."


    The girl shakes her head, "I don't want to be a bother."


    Michelle chuckles, "I'm not exactly busy at the moment, and you never know, you might attract some customers for me."


    The girl allows herself to be led into the shop and to the small bathroom in the back. As Michelle takes her hand away from the girls cloths, she can't help noticing the sticky feeling that's left on her hand. Heading to the kitchenette, she fills the electric kettle and puts it on before taking her yoga bag from one of the cupboards before knocking on the door to the toilet, "Hey, I've got a change of clothes you can use if you want."


    When she can only hear the sound of soft crying, she puts the bag down by the door, "I've left it by the door. There's some shampoo and shower gel in there too."


    Making her way back to the shop floor, she takes a mortar and pestle from behind the counter and turns to the drawers of individual teas and ingredients that she makes her specials from.


    "Hmm, lets use chamomile as a base and add some lemon balm to help calm her down. A Hibiscus flow and a pinch of cinnamon to add a little sweetness and help boost her positive emotions. Hmm, maybe a couple of rose petals too."


    With the ingredients picked, Michelle sits at the counter and starts to slowly grind the flowers and petals into dust as she channels qi into the mixture.


    It's nearly an hour later when the girl comes out the bathroom smelling of the lemongrass and ginger shampoo that was in the bag. As she comes into the front of the store, Michelle leans down and grabs one of her glass demonstration teapots and a plastic carrier bag, "What's your name honey?"


    The girl picks at a sleeve of the yoga top she's wearing, "Um, Charlotte Borach Miss."


    Michelle smiles, "Call me Michelle. Charlotte, could you put your clothes in this bag and fill the teapot up from the kettle in the kitchen?"


    "Uh, sure."


    As Charlotte's walking through the door, Michelle calls, "Don't worry about heating the kettle again."


    Charlotte comes back with the teapot and watches in fascination as Michelle puts her hands on either side of the still warm water, and brings it back to the boil with qi before pouring the ground tea mix into a filter insert and dropping it into the tea.


    When she looks up, Charlotte raises her hands and says, "I won't tell anyone, promise."


    Michelle smiles at Charlotte, "It's not a secret, and I'm not a cape so don't worry about it. Now, why were you walking around waiting for Percy to get back?"


    Charlotte examines her hands, "I just needed to see if he's got any second hand copies of a couple of books."


    "Charlotte, even I know that girls don't get covered in soda for laughs, unless those laughs are at their expense. What happened?"


    Charlotte bursts into tears and, between customers, starts talking about how the bullying at school got so much worse for her since January after a girl called Taylor Hebert was shoved into a locker and disappeared. And how her wet swimming kit ended up on her school books a couple of times over the last couple of months, and her parents had started to believe the principal about this being attention seeking behavior.


    Charlotte sniffs, and takes a sip of tea, "And then the bitches three poured juice over me and my books while I was using the restroom. I-I didn't have a change of clothes so I had to do the last period like that. I wanted to get new books after dad said we couldn't afford to replace them last time."


    Michelle takes a sip of her own tea before asking, "Do your parents know you're here?"


    Charlotte shakes her head, "They don't get home till six, and it's not like they'd believe me anyway."


    The sound of the fifth bell rings through the store as Michelle thinks and Charlotte drinks her tea. "Do you have a cell phone?"


    Charlotte shakes her head, "Not anymore. It stopped working the second time my swimming kit was moved."


    Michelle rubs Charlotte's upper arm comfortingly, "Ok, do you know their phone numbers?"


    Charlotte nods, "207-390-9096, it's my dad's."


    Michelle quickly scribbles it down before using the store phone to dial the number. As she'd dialing, Charlotte waves her hand, "No, no, please don't tell him."


    Michelle covers the mouth piece as she says, "Charlotte, your parents need to know, and you're in no state to go home on your own. Hello Mr Borach? I'm Michelle from Contemplative Brew… The tea boutique on Main Street… The one that does tea ceremony on Saturdays? I have your daughter Charlotte here, and… No, she actually broke down crying… Mr Borach, I really think it would be better if you or her mother picked her up in person… No, I'm quite certain that she's not making stuff up… Charlotte, how old are you?"


    Charlotte startles at the question, "16 last week, why?"


    "Mr Borach, I'm so confident that Charlotte isn't attention seeking, or making it up, that I'm going to offer her a job over the Easter Break… She doesn't need your permission sir, she's over 16… Main Street… Yes I'll stay here until you arrive."


    As she hangs up Charlotte goggles at her, "What?"


    Michelle turns back to Charlotte, "Exactly what I just said. I'm offering you a job. As it's the Easter Break now, I know I'm going to be busier. You'll have a 15 day trial starting tomorrow. $60 on Saturdays for 10 till 5. $30 during the week for 1 till 5."


    "Um…"


    "Trust me, you'll earn the extra on Saturdays."


    "Oh, um, why? Not that I'm ungrateful, but why are you being so nice?"


    "Charlotte, since Dakala started doing the tea ceremony demonstrations, I've been busier, especially on Saturdays. Busy enough that I could use the help. You could obviously use the confidence boost before it's completely destroyed, and you're here. So why not."


    "Uh, who's Dakala?"


    "You'll meet her tomorrow if you accept the job."


    Charlotte looks down at her empty cup of tea and swirls the dregs around for a moment, "I'd like that. Um, what would I be doing?"


    Michelle smiles, "Great. Tomorrow you'll just be bagging up while I handle the till. The PRT runs three tours on Saturdays, with the first one ending at 11. During school holidays they run two tours a day, the first one finishes at 1:30 and the second finishes at 4. Half an hour either side of that is when I get most of my business."


    Charlotte looks down, "Um, I should really be in Synagogue on Saturdays."


    "Oh. Sorry, I didn't know. Well, you can start on Monday if it would be better, and I can let you go early on Fridays."


    "Thank you, I'll still talk to mom and dad though."


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    Mr Borach walks into the store almost an hour after the phone call. As he looks around the store with a judging expression, Michelle looks him up and down. The heavy boots, that are covered in dried clay, and dusty jeans are at odds with the clean shirt and jacket.


    As Charlotte comes out of the back carrying a box of teas, Mr Borach looks her up and down, "What do you think you're wearing young lady?"


    As Charlotte cringes slightly, Michelle steps between the two of them, "Mr Borach. That is my yoga gear, as her own clothes are soaked through with soda."


    Mr Borach looks down at Michelle, "I'm sorry that Charlotte has been causing you problems."


    Michelle shakes her head, "See, I don't think that comforting someone that's been having a tough time at school is a problem. Now I understand that you and your wife both work, so I understand not having time to really talk. But, don't assume that other people feel the same way."


    Mr Borach narrows his eyes, "I don't appreciate you talking to me in that tone of voice."


    "Well get used to it. I don't know what's going on at Winslow, but it stinks of queen bees and privilege." She raises her finger, "I am a trained counselor, I can show you my degree if you insist. I run a tea shop because I burned out in two years by having to fight the system to get help for my clients. I now teach yoga two nights a week, and run this shop. Your daughter, Charlotte is not seeking attention. Quite the opposite, I would say that she has all but given up on anybody listening to her. A large part of that is going to be down to you."


    "How I raise my daughter is my business, hell, you can't be older than 30 so I doubt you even know the sacrifices involved in raising children."


    Michelle shakes her head, "I'm 34, not that it matters, and I might not have my own children, but I do know people. Here's a question to keep you awake at night, should your daughter be so afraid of your reaction that she tries to buy second hand school books instead of going home and getting cleaned up?"


    Charlotte squeaks, "I wasn't afraid, I just didn't…"


    Michelle turns to look back at Charlotte, "Honey, that's a fear response. You were afraid that it would be seen as more attention seeking behavior." Turning back, she adds, "While I didn't specialize in neuro divergent behaviors, I do know that attention seeking rarely happens in only one location. Now, it's getting late and I seem to remember something about the sabbath starting at sunset. Charlotte, you've got my card. Give me a call if you want to work tomorrow, otherwise I'll see you Monday."


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    Missy wakes up to the sound of voices nearby and keeps her eyes closed out of long established survival instincts.

    "I don't care that Director Piggot isn't going to do anything, you shouldn't have just taken her away."


    "That is one of the ways you're a good person Dragon. I gave her the choice to come here, and I made it as free and simple as I could."


    "But her parents withdrew their consent."


    "She's no more a child than you are Dragon. This country and Europe seem to have forgotten that it's not time that makes adults, its experiences."


    Dakala's soft voice overrides the quiet conversation, "How are you feeling this morning?"


    Missy opens her eyes to see Dakala on her hands and knees beside her. She tries to raise her hand, to no avail, "Apart from, not being, able to move, I'm fine. You?"


    Dakala lays down on her side, "It sucks just as much as it did the first time. Did you work out how to push qi into your body before you passed out?"


    "Uh." As Missy brushes the cobwebs of sleep away, she registers that she's lying in a very comfortable bed.


    Dakala, noticing this, chuckles, "The beds are like that, aren't they. They're also insanely durable too."


    Missy tries to nod in agreement.


    "Don't worry, you've got a few minutes to try and move your arm. Just so you're aware, the paper thin walls in the pagoda, are literally paper thin. I'm just going to lay here while you cycle qi and try to push enough qi into your arm to lift it."


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    Kayden groans as her alarm goes off. As her eyes open, she looks around her room in confusion before lurching out of bed and stumbling through the apartment to Aster's room. As she looks into the moses basket, she lets out a sigh of relief to see her sleeping in the fine silk wrappings the Empress put her in.


    Picking her up just to reassure herself that she's still there, Kayden marvels at how light Aster feels before abruptly starting to worry that she's lost weight. Quickly she undresses her and carefully checks her over before taking her to the bath to play as a reward for being woken up.


    As she's bathing Aster, the events of yesterday afternoon filter back in, along with how she passed out after she managed to turn onto her front in order to reach the Empress and Aster.


    Once Aster has finished playing with bubbles, Kayden dresses her in stuff that isn't so expensive and walks into the kitchen to make some pepper, avocado, and cauliflower sticks for her to play with and eat while she checks her appointments for the day.


    Stuck to the fridge is a sheet of paper with neatly painted heavenly characters that reads.


    Dakala helped me get you to your bed after you passed out. Your conveyance is in your ring with everything else. Cultivation starts at sunset every day, don't drop your talisman next time.


    Kayden glances down at her ring and her eyes widen as she pushes a bit of qi into it.


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    Armsmaster strides past the PRT guard posted around the abandoned office building. Walking over to the mobile command center, he climbs the stairs and pushes open the door.


    Inside the commander looks up, and Armsmaster says, "Good morning, what do you need?"


    "We've sent cameras through the holes the lightning made in the dirt, and we've found a survivor. A young girl who's strapped to a bed. I want permission for Shadow Stalker to go down there, release the girl and provide food and water. I originally requested Vista, but she's marked as on holiday and out of the region."


    Armsmaster pulls up the wards roster on his HUD with a frown, that deepens when he notices that Vista's entry is highlighted as in region. "Vista is showing as in region. Shadow Stalker should be on shift from 1pm, why did you need me here?"


    The commander brings up the roster on his tablet as he says, "She wasn't yesterday at 5pm. You are listed as the onsite contact for the Wards when Director Piggot is unable to be present. Due to her disability, she's not allowed on site. We were going to bring you in last night before we found out our first plan was a no go."


    "Understood. What's the situation?"


    "Condemned Endbringer shelter, according to the records it failed its safety inspection and was backfilled with dirt and concrete in 04, and then someone built the office building on top of it. Construction halted in 07 due to subsidence. Cameras show that the contractor probably just filled the entrance stairs and called it a day. Whoever moved in did so quietly. It's going to take us days to get through the doors, so the girl's living on borrowed time if we don't get parahuman support."


    Armsmaster nods as he starts dialing the provided contact number. A moment later a woman says, "Hello, did I do this right? Dragon it was the green button wasn't it?"


    Armsmaster grits his teeth, "Good morning ma'am."


    "Oh, hello Colin. I understand I'm supposed to ask how can I help you."


    "Who is this?"


    "Oh… Stellar Empress. One moment. It's the man you're interested in, Colin… Of course you can, just teach him to cultivate and you can have children later… He's by the underground base and they want to know if Missy can help out… He's in a suit of armor… There's five people in the base that weren't hit by lightning… Ok, I'll hand you over… Sorry about that Colin, I'm just handing you over to Dragon."


    Armsmaster checks that he's recording the conversation before typing out a message to the commander, "Five survivors, not one."


    Dragon's voice comes over the phone, "Armsmaster, it's Dragon."


    Amsmaster lets out a sigh of relief, "Dragon, we have an emergency here."


    "I gathered from the Empress's explanation. What do you need?"


    "I need to recall Vista temporarily. Also, Stellar Empress isn't authorized to know secret identities, especially those of the Wards."


    "Armsmaster, she can see and hear everything in at least the city. I'll speak to Vista and see what she says. Empress, don't go away you know I'm stuck here… Damn it! I'll speak to Vista after she recovers from eating whatever the Empress just gave her. Sorry, I need to try and sort this out. Just be aware that there's likely no inconspicuous way to get Missy to the PRT from here."


    "I can have a medical team sent to you in 10 minutes."


    Dragon sighs, "Armsmaster, it's not harmful. It's just, her body and spiritual cultivation is now unbalanced."


    "What was that?"


    "I can't tell you. It's not classified, you just don't have the language to understand it."


    Armsmaster nods, "Understood. I will have Vista's costume sent to the parking area down the hill from Stellar Empress' base just in case she agrees. I'll call you back once we have a viable plan."


    "Ah, call the Empress or Dalaka. Dakala would probably be better actually as she's native to Earth Bet."


    "Are you saying that Stellar Empress is a Case 47?"


    "Absolutely yes, from an uncontacted world. I can't check at the moment, but she may even be the start of a new case file."


    "And the new powers people are exhibiting come from…" Armsmaster cuts off as the commander coughs, "My apologies, I am still on site."


    Armsmaster can hear Dragon's smile as she says, "I know. Vista just croaked that she'll do it. I need to reboot my systems now so give me five minutes."


    Armsmaster nods and hangs up. "Vista has agreed to return to help. What's your plan for getting the child out?"


    The commander clicks a remote mouse and pulls up a video of a camera snaking its way through loosely packed rubble and earth.


    "As you can see, we have a camera on a cable threaded through 50 feet of broken up earth into the base. We are bringing in some flexible pipe laying equipment that we will fit over the cable on our end and then snake its way through to the bottom. We'll have approximately 30 minutes to insert and then inflate the pipe before the resin hardens. Our plan with Vista was to have her expand the inside of the pipe enough that our men can rappel down and rescue the child. With Shadow Stalker, the plan was similar but we needed to calculate the exact distance she'd be traveling and the chances of her running out of breath before she entered the chamber. We have a full risk assessment available on the systems here."


    Armsmaster nods, "That explains the delay in calling us in."
     
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  • Threadmarks
    • I never actually read Worm, as it is way, way, way too fucking depressing for me, so I only know of Charlotte from fanfiction, and she's a super rare character there.
    I completely forgot that Dinah would be trapped! Holy shit. I have no idea who the others are, mercenaries who weren't slavers? Undersiders, or Travelers?
     
    Darkphoenixlady said:
    "She's no more a child than you are Dragon. This country and Europe seem to have forgotten that it's not time that makes adults, its experiences."

    Dakala's soft voice overrides the quiet conversation, "How are you feeling this morning?"
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    It feels like there should be a scene separator here with how it's currently structured. I can see that this is Missy overhearing them, but as the section didn't seem to start from her viewpoint it seems like it switched places to a different scene here.

    Might add a line at the start of this section about Missy waking up and that she could hear a conversation outside - just something that more firmly attaches this section to her viewpoint at the beginning.
     
    Wentley said:
    I never actually read Worm, as it is way, way, way too fucking depressing for me, so I only know of Charlotte from fanfiction, and she's a super rare character there.
    I completely forgot that Dinah would be trapped! Holy shit. I have no idea who the others are, mercenaries who weren't slavers? Undersiders, or Travelers?
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    Charlotte was the Jewish girl that Taylor rescued from the Merchants after Leviathan, and basically ran Skitter's orphanage.

    As for leaving Dinah trapped, Empress is probably restricted by the Mandate from acting directly unless requested.
     
    ALLCAPSNOSPACE said:
    Trying to move Dinah and the bed like that would probably interfere with Missy's power because living things mess with it. They're going to need to get people down to her and bring her back up.
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    So leave Dinah where she is, and lower the lip of the hole. the same way she steps onto roofs from the ground. She doesnt need to change the space Dinah occupies to do any of this.
     
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    vawentine said:
    but if Dinah is on the bed and Missy uses her power on the bed itself, it should be fine?
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    Missy warps space itself, so 'using' if on the bed wouldn't work. She warps space, then thinks move through it.

    ALLCAPSNOSPACE said:
    Trying to move Dinah and the bed like that would probably interfere with Missy's power because living things mess with it. They're going to need to get people down to her and bring her back up.
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    As far as i know, there can't be anying living in the space she warps. But after warping, things can move through it.
     
    MaimakteriAnn said:
    not to widen the pipe's horizontal dimensions and decrease the vertical ones until the bed is at street level, transfer her directly to an ambulance?
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    That may come up during planning with Armsmaster, or when Missy arrives. But to start with it's PRT officers working on their known capabilities and seeing how Vista can work into their plans. Not thinking about how Vista changes the very nature of the plans they're making.
    sdarian said:
    It feels like there should be a scene separator here with how it's currently structured. I can see that this is Missy overhearing them, but as the section didn't seem to start from her viewpoint it seems like it switched places to a different scene here.

    Might add a line at the start of this section about Missy waking up and that she could hear a conversation outside - just something that more firmly attaches this section to her viewpoint at the beginning.
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    Added
    MultipleChoice said:
    Charlotte was the Jewish girl that Taylor rescued from the Merchants after Leviathan, and basically ran Skitter's orphanage.

    As for leaving Dinah trapped, Empress is probably restricted by the Mandate from acting directly unless requested.
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    And if she wasn't restricted, there are children in far worse situations that she'd save first.
     
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    Placing it in Threadmarks make it seems like it's part of the story. Maybe Informational or Votes (if SV have them, I don't remember)?

    [x] Charlottes family are secular Jews - She starts work tomorrow.
     
    [x] Charlottes family are religious Jews - She starts work on Monday.
     
    More named cultivators, ah yeah!

    [x] Charlottes family are secular Jews - She starts work tomorrow.
     
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